The first part of the BBC series The men who made us fat was great, revealing the disastrous mistakes behind the fear of fat.
This second part – on the supersizing of our food – is not as great. But it’s still interesting. The problem is that they interview mostly experts stuck in an old paradigm. They fear calories and “calorie-dense” foods. But there’s nothing wrong with calorie-dense food, as long as it’s high quality food:
Quantity or quality?
Just about nobody got fat from eating meat, fish, eggs or olive oil. In fact, when told to eat as much of such food as they like, obese people lose weight quickly. More effectively than on other diets. Even though these are some of the most calorie-dense foods there are. Much more calorie-dense than French fries or donuts.
It just doesn’t add up. There has to be a better explanation – and there is.
It’s not the quantity of calories that is a problem. It’s the quality. Why? Because eating high quality food makes you feel satisfied, makes you eat less calories voluntarily.
But eating low quality food (sugar and starch) makes you hungrier, makes you want to eat too much. And pretty soon you’re happily supersizing your food and gaining weight.
What do you say?
What did you think about this second part?
